Books-for-Luther-fans

Reading lists

12 must-read books for Luther fans

Books set in England

The best crime novels set in England

The Blood Divide

A. A. Dhand has made a reputation for fast paced police procedurals that keep the pages turning. In his latest standalone offering, he stays true to form with a plot that fairly zips along. The book opens with a bang and continues with a thrill-a-minute adventure that moves from Britain to the dark underbelly of India. As Jack and Aisha search for the truth, secrets emerge from the shadows of India's past. This man knows how to keep me up into the early hours. Relentlessly thrilling!

Vaseem Khan, author of MIDNIGHT AT MALABAR HOUSE

Another thrilling page turner from A. A. Dhand. The Blood Divide deals with one of the most heartbreaking periods of history in a sensitive way, without letting the pace or action suffer. This might be his best yet!

Intense, gripping and impactful - The Blood Divide will be one of my favourite books of the year. I loved it.

The Blood Divide was an adrenaline-filled ride which took me from Bradford to Delhi to the Pakistan border, with unexpected twists and turns building to a touching climax.

A fast-paced, powerful, eye-opening novel.

I doubt I'll read a better thriller this year.

A cracking thriller [...] Dhand moves into the premier league of the thriller world with this propulsive and bloody page-turner.

A fireball of an opening chapter and it just gets better and better. A A Dhand is a gifted writer, and you should run, RUN, to buy The Blood Divide.

A. A. Dhand is the author of six previous novels, and has been shortlisted for the CWA Steel Dagger Award. His DI Harry Virdee novels are currently being adapted for TV by the BBC. He was raised in Bradford and spent his youth observing the city from behind the counter of a small convenience store. After qualifying as a pharmacist, he worked in London and travelled extensively before returning to Bradford to start his own business and begin writing. The history, diversity and darkness of the city have inspired all his novels. For more information about A. A. Dhand and his books, follow him on X @aadhand, and on Instagram @aa_dhand.

A detective rings the doorbell in the middle of the night. 
He wants to ask Jack Baxi some questions. Jack fears the police have come to arrest him. But things quickly take a darker, more violent turn. 
 
He isn't here to solve a crime. 
Because soon Jack is tortured and left for dead, with a young woman he's never met before. 
 
He's here to commit a murder. 
Now, running for their lives, Jack and Aisha set out on a perilous journey from Bradford to Delhi to expose a dangerous organisation - and to save the lives of the people they love... 
 
'A fireball of an opening chapter and it just gets better and better. A A Dhand is a gifted writer, and you should run, RUN, to buy The Blood Divide.' Steve Cavanagh, bestselling author of THIRTEEN 
 
'Another thrilling page-turner from A. A. Dhand [...] This might be his best yet' Alex Caan, author of CUT TO THE BONE 
'Intense, gripping and impactful' James Delargy, author of 55 and VANISHED 
'An adrenaline-filled ride' Ajay Chowdhury, author of THE WAITER 
'Opens with a bang and continues with a thrill-a-minute adventure . . . A. A. Dhand knows how to keep me up into the early hours' Vaseem Khan, author of MIDNIGHT AT MALABAR HOUSE 
'I doubt I'll read a better thriller this year' M. W. Craven, author of THE CURATOR 
 
EVERYONE IS RAVING ABOUT THE BLOOD DIVIDE: 
 
***** 'One of the best books I've read in ages' 
***** 'An outstanding, nail-biting thriller that packs a punch' 
***** 'Full of action, betrayal and friendship - a must-read for any mystery/thriller fan'

One Way Out

A dark and addictive thriller

The Harry Virdee series: If Luther was set in Bradford. 
110 mosques on lockdown, 1 bomb. But the government does not negotiate with terrorists. 
In order to save lives, sometimes you have to take them.

This couldn’t be more topical if A. A. Dhand was handing you the freshly written pages as he watched the news. It’s hugely exciting, too.

I highly, highly recommend this brilliant Bradford-set thriller. Timely, and a compulsive page-turner.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE CWA STEEL DAGGER 2020 
 
If Luther was set in Bradford... 
 
The government is firm, it does not negotiate with terrorists. But Detective Harry Virdee's wife has been taken hostage. He can see only one way out. 
 
'One of the most multi-layered policemen to have appeared in recent years' Mail on Sunday 
 
 
IMMINENT SECURITY ALERT, LEAVE CITY PARK IMMEDIATELY. 
 
DCI Harry Virdee has just enough time to get his son and his mother to safety before the bomb blows. But this is merely a stunt; there is worse to come. 
 
A new and aggressive nationalist group, the Patriots, have hidden a second device under one of the city's mosques. In exchange for the safe release of those at Friday prayers, the Patriots want custody of the leaders of radical Islamist group Almukhtareen - the chosen ones. 
 
The government does not negotiate with terrorists. Even when thousands of lives are at risk. 
 
But Harry's wife is in one of those mosques. Left with no choice, Harry must find the Almukhtareen, to offer the Patriots his own deal. Because sometimes the only way to save lives, is to take them. 
 
'Delves deep into the dark side of Bradford, exploring a city riven by racial tensions.' Jake Kerridge, Sunday Express 
 
'An author to keep an eye on . . . Dhand is a fearless writer' Sunday Times

Darkness Rising

Dhand takes us back to the beginning of Harry Virdee's story in this short story for Quick Reads 2020. A thrilling read.

'One of the most multi-layered policemen to have appeared in recent years.' - Mail on Sunday 
 
Detective Inspector Harry Virdee has a lot on his plate. His team is facing government cuts, tensions are building between Bradford’s two rival drugs gangs and his wife Saima is due to give birth any day now. 
 
So when bodies start turning up in the old industrial district, the pressure is on to get the case wrapped up as quickly as possible, or risk a full-scale gang war. 
 
But the man behind the murders is ruthless and pushy. And things are getting personal. Harry must think fast and bend the rules if he wants to keep his city, and his family, safe . . .

City of Sinners

Detective Harry Virdee should be at home with his wife, but he's been suspended from work just as the biggest case of the year lands on what would have been his desk. He can't keep himself away . . . 
 
Luther meets The Wire in this gritty crime series set in Bradford.

The third in the explosive DI Harry Virdee series - if Luther was set in Bradford.

High octane drama from one of Britain’s freshest crime voices.

DI Harry Virdee has established himself as a star anti-hero on the streets of Bradford, and Dhand’s brilliant creation doesn’t fail fans in this third book. . . Murder, drugs, racism… all this under the grim skies if West Yorks. Another winning read.

AA Dhand’s excellent series about Chief Inspector Harry Virdee delves deep into the dark side of Bradford, exploring a city riven by racial tensions and devoid of hope.

'A character destined for television' Daily Mail 
'High octane drama from one of Britain’s freshest crime voices' Phil Williams, BBC Radio Five live 
 
 
It is an ordinary Yorkshire morning, cold and miserable. 
 
The streets are not yet busy. Police cars hurriedly pull up in the centre of town, but none of their lights are flashing and the sirens are silent. 
 
A body has been found, elaborately and painstakingly positioned to send a message. But what message? And to who? 
 
It’s DCI Harry Virdee’s job to find out. But Harry doesn’t know that the killer is watching him, that the killer is coming for him. 
 
Because this is personal. 
 
'Dhand is a fearless writer' Sunday Times 
 
A DI Harry Virdee Thriller

Girl Zero

Treading the fine line of the law and destined for the small screen, Harry Virdee is Bradford’s answer to Luther – this is the next in the explosive book-a-year series

Harry Virdee is one of the most multi-layered policemen to have appeared in recent years. Girl Zero is a story as fresh as today’s newspaper headlines — and all the more potent for being so . . . Fierce, fast-paced and vivid, it underlines just how good Dhand is .

'A story as fresh as today’s newspaper headlines — and all the more potent for being so' Mail on Sunday 
 
Answering a routine call on the outskirts of the city, Detective Inspector Harry Virdee finds something he never thought he’d have to face – the cold body of his beloved niece. 
 
He’s immediately banned from working the case, but there’s no way Harry can walk away while the monster who killed his flesh and blood is still walking the streets. But before he can find the killer, he must tell his brother, Ron, the terrible news. 
 
Impulsive, dangerous and frighteningly well connected, Ron will act first and think later. Harry may have a murderer to find but if he isn't careful, he may also have a murder to prevent.

Streets of Darkness

A major debut thriller that does for Bradford what The Wire did for Baltimore

This up-to-the-minute debut is a scorching story of a city divided . . . Written with pace and precision, it gives us a character destined for television but also announces the arrival of a formidable crime writer.

Outstanding - relentless, multi-layered suspense and real human drama make this a crime debut to relish

A tense slice of neo-noir that has won Dhand comparisons to both BBC drama Luther and HBO’s The Wire

Dhand's Streets of Darkness are in Bradford and they sure are dark . . . The blood count is high but the novel deserves attention for its sheer inventiveness and unbridled energy

A sombre, gritty race through the unsettling underbelly of Bradford . . . compelling and unflinching

A surefooted, exciting and intelligent procedural; a very good debut

Luther meets The Wire, this is the first Detective Harry Virdee novel 
 
The sky over Bradford is heavy with foreboding. It always is. But this morning it has reason to be – this morning a body has been found. And it’s not just any body. 
 
Detective Harry Virdee should be at home with his wife. Impending fatherhood should be all he can think about but he’s been suspended from work just as the biggest case of the year lands on what would have been his desk. He can’t keep himself away. 
 
Determined to restore his reputation, Harry is obliged to take to the shadows in search of notorious ex-convict and prime suspect, Lucas Dwight. But as the motivations of the murder threaten to tip an already unstable city into riotous anarchy, Harry finds his preconceptions turned on their head as he discovers what it’s like to be on the other side of the law…

A. A. Dhand

Outstanding – relentless, multi-layered suspense.

The blood count is high but the novel deserves attention for its sheer inventiveness and unbridled energy.

AA Dhand’s excellent series about Chief Inspector Harry Virdee delves deep into the dark side of Bradford, exploring a city riven by racial tensions and devoid of hope.

A tense slice of neo-noir that has won Dhand comparisons to both BBC drama Luther and HBO’s The Wire.

DI Harry Virdee has established himself as a star anti-hero on the streets of Bradford, and Dhand’s brilliant creation doesn’t fail fans in this third book. . . Murder, drugs, racism… all this under the grim skies of West Yorks. Another winning read.

It is an ordinary Yorkshire morning, cold and miserable. 
 
The streets are not yet busy. Police cars hurriedly pull up in the centre of town, but none of their lights are flashing and the sirens are silent. 
 
A body has been found, elaborately and painstakingly positioned to send a message. But what message? And to who? 
 
It’s DCI Harry Virdee’s job to find out. But Harry doesn’t know that the killer is watching him, that the killer is coming for him. 
 
Because this is personal.

A. A. Dhand

Books by A. A. Dhand

Series by A. A. Dhand

D.I. Harry Virdee

Articles featuring A. A. Dhand

12 must-read books for Luther fans

The best crime novels set in England

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